Unanimous Agreement Reached on Restoring Lower Neponset River!

June 24, 2009

Great news!   The Neponset River Watershed Association has won unanimous community support for a plan to clean up the lower Neponset River and restore herring and shad runs from Dorchester to Walpole.

Background:

NepRWA, along with the Massachusetts Riverways Program, has worked for over a decade to restore former “fish runs” for herring and shad in the Neponset River. These are ocean fish that must spawn (lay their eggs) in fresh water. Seventeen miles of prime spawning habitat are now blocked on the Neponset River by two dams in Boston and Milton. Restoration of the Neponset River would involve modifying the fish run obstacles and eliminating toxic chemicals in the river to make river fish safer to eat, increase boating opportunities and improve river health.

Last fall, NepRWA formed a “Citizens Advisory Committee” (CAC) to see if a consensus could be reached with neighborhood, civic and condominium associations along this stretch of the river, as to what lower Neponset River restoration should involve. The 26-member CAC soon had the sponsorship of all the state environmental agencies, the City of Boston, and the Town of Milton. Ultimately, the CAC reached a consensus; read the CAC recommendations. 

Here is a summary of the recommendations:

Unanimous Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Recommendations:

Dredge out the toxic PCBs from behind the two dams, 

Remove the Tileston and Hollingsworth (T&H) Dam in Hyde Park and Milton;

Reduce the height of the Baker Dam in Lower Mills ( Dorchester and Milton) and construct a “nature-like fish ramp” to allow migratory fish to pass over it. 

Next Steps: 

Two additional studies need to be done by the Riverways Program before the project can begin the environmental review and permitting process. Riverways needs relatively modest funding for the studies. Read below to see how you can help them get it.

The most expensive piece of the Neponset River Restoration is going to be dredging out toxic PCBs in river sediments lodged behind the two dams. A good portion (if not all) of the funding for the PCB cleanup work will probably have to come from parties legally responsible for discharging the PCBs in the first place.

Read what NepRWA is doing to identify private parties who may be responsible for cleaning up Neponset PCBs.

What you can do to help:

Take the next step to restore the Neponset:  Write, email, or call your state Representative and Senator:

      Tell them that you strongly support the CAC recommendations.

      Ask for their help in obtaining the modest amount of bond funding needed for the project’s final design studies. Legislators can do this by contacting the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs and asking them to give the state “Riverways” Program enough “bond cap” to pay for the studies.

      If you are represented by any of the following legislators, please thank them for convening the CAC: Senators Jack Hart, Brian Joyce and Marian Walsh; and Representatives Linda Dorcena Forry, Walter F. Timilty and Angelo Scaccia.

      Identify your legislators. Type your address, click “find my election information,” and scroll to bottom of page.

      Find contact information for your legislators.

      Learn more about the restoration of the Lower Neponset (NOTE: The content of the linked webpage was written before the CAC compromise was reached; content will be updated in the near future).

Do more to support restoration of the Neponset River : 

Write to Steve Pearlman, NepRWA Advocacy Director, at pearlman@neponset.org. Please include your address, e-mail, and phone number(s) for future alerts. 

June 2009

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